Referral of patients from the Gaza Strip, May 2011

Referral of patients from the Gaza Strip, May 2011

Summary for May 2011 • 92% of applications for a permit to cross Erez were approved. • A 29-year-old male patient with a valid permit was detained at Erez crossing. • 44% of referred patients were transferred for the following health conditions: cardiovascular diseases, oncology, orthopaedics, ophthalmology and neurosurgery. • 37% of essential drugs and 27% of essential medical disposables were at zero stock level (less than one month supply).

MONTHLY REPORT
Referral of Patients from the Gaza Strip
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May 2011
occupied Palestinian territory
Summary for May 2011
92% of applications for a permit to cross Erez were approved. A 29-year-old male patient with a valid permit was detained at Erez crossing. 44% of referred patients were transferred for the following health conditions: cardiovascular diseases, oncology, orthopaedics, ophthalmology and neurosurgery. 37% of essential drugs and 27% of essential medical disposables were at zero stock level (less than one month supply).
Permit applications for patient referrals through Erez
During May 2011, the Israeli District Liaison Office (DCL) processed 1,076 patient applications for permits to cross Erez checkpoint to access hospitals in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Israel and Jordan (see Table 1). This number was higher than the 825 applications processed in April 2011 � a month that was impacted by Israeli holidays and medical personnel on strike in Israeli hospitals.
Table 1: District Liaison Office decisions on permit requests to cross Erez (May 2011, disaggregated by age and sex) Age group Total Approved Denied Delayed Out of which called for GSS interrogation M F 0 0 0 0 8 1 3 0 0 0 11 1 12 Did not cross despite approval M 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 F 0 0 0 0 0 0
0-3 4 - 17 18 - 40 41 - 60 Over 60 Sub-total Total
M F 84 80 140 100 139 122 149 120 70 72 582 494 1076
M F 83 78 134 97 106 98 135 118 67 70 525 461 986
M 0 1 11 6 0 18 22
F 0 0 3 1 0 0
M 1 5 22 8 3 39 68
F 2 3 21 1 2 29
In May 2011, 92% (986 patients) of all permit applications to cross Erez checkpoint were approved. This figure is substantially higher than the average for 2010, which was 78% (see Figure 1). 2% of permit applications were denied (22 patients); another 6% (68 patients, including 11 children) were delayed. Of the 68 patients whose applications were delayed by the Israeli authorities, 12 were called for interrogation by the Israeli intelligence services known as General Security Services (GSS). 2 of these patients did not attend the
Referral of Patients from the Gaza Strip, May, 2011
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interrogation; 4 patients, who underwent interrogation, are still waiting for a response from GSS at the end of the month; 3 had their application approved, and; 3 had their application denied. 62% of delayed patients faced delays of more than a week. Delayed patients generally miss their hospital appointments. In most cases they have to seek new appointments and submit new applications for a permit to cross Erez checkpoint. Delays in processing applications can be critical for patients who are waiting for urgent medical treatment. Some may die while waiting for permission to access the medical facility they have been referred to. Since the beginning of the year 2009 a total of 36 patients have died while waiting for permission to access the hospital they had been referred to.
Destinations and reasons for referral
During May 2011, the Referral Abroad Department (RAD) of the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) approved and issued 1,584 referral documents compared with 1,277 for April. RAD found that 389 patients were able to receive appropriate treatment within the Gaza Strip, in either NGO or private hospitals. The remaining 1,195 patients had to leave Gaza in order to be treated in hospitals in Egypt (38%), East 1 Jerusalem (27%), Israel (24%), the West Bank (11%) and Jordan (2%) (see Figure 2). There was an increase in referrals to Egypt in May, compared with April (33%). Some patients prefer to be referred to Egypt in order to avoid the lengthy and uncertain process of obtaining a permit to cross through Erez. This is particularly true for men aged 18-40, who have only a 50% success rate in of obtaining an Israeli-issued permit. The main reasons for referrals in May were: cardiovascular (13%), oncology (12%), ophthalmology (9%), 2 orthopaedics (6%) and neurosurgery (5%) . Similarly to the month of April, these health conditions accounted for 44% of all referrals from Gaza; together, they made up 48% of the total cost of referrals in May, which reached NIS 13.5 million.
1 2
These figures have been rounded up to full percentages. These figures include referrals to NGO and private hospitals inside Gaza. For technical reasons it is not currently possible to provide a separate breakdown for patients who have to leave the Gaza Strip.
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Erez and Rafah crossing data for May 2011
According to the Palestinian Liaison Officer at Erez, 916 patients crossed Erez checkpoint during May 2011. Out of these, 57 needed to be transported by ambulance. Because Palestinian ambulances are not permitted to leave Gaza, the patients were transferred from one ambulance to another (back-to-back) at Erez checkpoint. This compares to 694 patients, including 42 via back-to-back ambulances, in April and 892 patients, including 54 via back-to-back ambulances, in March 2011. Rafah border crossing was open throughout May 2011, except during weekends. An estimated 500 patients managed to leave Gaza through Rafah for treatment in Egypt. This includes patients who were seeking medical treatment at their own expense and, therefore, traveled without a RAD referral document.
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A 29-year-old patient with a valid permit detained at Erez crossing
Waleed Abu Lihia, a 29-year-old man, was detained by the Israeli authorities at Erez crossing despite carrying a valid permit. Mr Abu Lihia suffers from cancer of the esophagus. For more than a year he was treated at Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City. As his condition continued to deteriorate, his doctor decided to refer him to Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem. He scheduled an appointment there for 17 May 2011 in order to receive further treatment. On 16 May 2011, the Israeli authorities approved Mr Abu Lihia's permit application to cross Erez checkpoint. On the day of his hospital appointment, Mr Abu Lihia and his companion travelled to Erez crossing. When they arrived, Mr Abu Lihia was interrogated by the Israeli General Security Services (GSS). After a four-hour wait, his companion was informed by GSS that Mr Abu Lihia had been detained. As of June 14 Mr Abu Lihia was still in detention.
Update on drugs and disposables in Gaza
The essential drugs list comprises 480 drugs while the essential medical disposables list comprises 700 items. These drugs and disposables are considered necessary for the provision of essential health care. The MoH in Ramallah is responsible for sending these items to Gaza and for ensuring that there are no shortages. At the end of May 2011, the Central Drug Store (CDS) in Gaza declared that 178 drugs were at zero stock level (compared with 153 in April). Stocks of 69 additional drugs were considered sufficient to last for less than 3 months. Of the drug items at zero stock level, almost 17% were antibiotics, 10% were for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, 9% were chemotherapy drugs, 8% were analgesics, narcotics and anti-inflammatory drugs, 8% were psychotherapeutics and anticonvulsants, 7% were for blood disorders, 6% were for ophthalmological disorders, and 5% were for immune system disorders. In addition, 190 essential medical disposable items out of 700 were at zero stock level. This is in comparison to April, when 155 items were at zero stock level. Stocks of 75 additional medical disposables were estimated to constitute less than a 3-month supply. The last shipment of medical disposables from the MoH in Ramallah to Gaza was in February 2011. The zero stock figures in May were higher than the figures during the preceding three months, reflecting the further deterioration in the availability of drugs and disposables in Gaza.
Further information
Back issues of this report and other WHO publications are available at: http://issuu.com/who-opt/docs To subscribe, for questions and inquiries, please write to: rad-report@who-health.org
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Annex 1: Historic data
District Liaison Office decisions on permit requests to cross Erez
(total number and % per decision for given period) Period Total Approved Denied Delayed Out of which called for GSS 3 interrogation 85 7.9% 38 3.9% 30 2.9% 42 4.0% 52 4.2% 61 5.6% 31 3.3% 20 2.2% 15 22.4% 6 0.6% 13 1.6% 20 2.2% 15 1.6% 11 1.2% 11 1.0% 19 2.3%
Jan 2010 Feb 2010 Mar 2010 Apr 2010 May 2010 Jun 2010 Jul 2010 Aug 2010 Sep 2010 Oct 2010 Nov 2010 Dec 2010 Jan 2011 Feb 2011 Mar 2011 Apr 2011 May 2011 2010 2009
1081 979 1029 1047 1225 1090 947 919 626 976 821 895 935 899 1071 825 1076 11635 7514
845 78.2% 767 78.3% 780 75.8% 760 72.6% 894 73.0% 864 79.3% 789 83.3% 770 83.8% 532 85.0% 744 76.2% 650 79.2% 690 77.1% 744 79.6% 784 87.2% 968 90.4% 746 90.4%
24 2.2% 25 2.6% 23 2.2% 40 3.8% 155 12.7% 134 12.3% 95 10.0% 87 9.5% 14 2.2% 21 2.2% 17 2.1% 15 1.7% 22 2.4% 21 2.3% 26 2.4% 19 2.3%
212 19.6% 187 19.1% 226 22.0% 247 23.6% 176 14.4% 92 8.4% 63 6.7% 62 6.7% 80 12.8% 211 21.6% 154 18.8% 190 21.2% 169 18.1% 94 10.5% 77 7.2% 60 7.3%
986
91.6% 9085 78.1% 5130 68.3%
22
2.0% 650 5.6% 149 2.0%
68
6.3% 1900 16.3% 2235 29.7%
12
1.1% 413 3.5% 636 8.5%
3
The percentage rates for patients called for an interrogation with GSS are calculated from the total number of permit applications submitted.
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Referrals out of Gaza by geographic location
(total numbers and % per destination for given period) Period Jan 2010 Feb 2010 Mar 2010 Apr 2010 May 2010 Jun 2010 Jul 2010 Aug 2010 Sep 2010 Oct 2010 Nov 2010 Dec 2010 Jan 2011 Feb 2011 Mar 2011 Apr 2011 May 2011 2010 2009 West Bank 125 15.2% 148 17.8% 87 10.0% 97 11.2% 176 18.2% 125 11.7% 140 13.0% 129 11.6% 99 10.5% 114 10.3% 108 10.7% 124 11.0% 70 6.0% 86 10.3% 77 7.0% 111 11.7% 126 10.5% 1472 12.5% 1327 15.6% East Jerusalem 327 39.7% 327 39.4% 364 41.8% 299 34.5% 342 35.4% 301 28.3% 253 23.4% 323 29.2% 212 22.6% 285 25.7% 246 24.4% 238 21.2% 294 25.3% 280 33.4% 345 31.2% 268 28.2% 318 26.6% 3517 29.8% 2453 28.8% Egypt 172 20.9% 167 20.1% 204 23.4% 280 32.3% 209 21.6% 443 41.6% 470 43.5% 388 35.0% 414 44.1% 496 44.8% 429 42.5% 537 47.7% 531 45.7% 185 22.1% 356 32.2% 314 33.0% 448 37.5% 4209 35.7% 3203 37.7% Jordan 11 1.3% 21 2.5% 10 1.1% 7 0.8% 9 0.9% 10 0.9% 14 1.3% 11 1.0% 8 0.9% 24 2.2% 10 1.0% 15 1.3% 22 1.9% 27 3.2% 17 1.5% 16 1.7% 20 1.7% 150 1.3% 364 4.3% Israel 189 22.9% 168 20.2% 205 23.6% 183 21.1% 230 23.8% 186 17.5% 203 18.8% 257 23.2% 206 21.9% 189 17.1% 216 21.4% 211 18.8% 246 21.2% 260 31.0% 312 28.2% 243 25.5% 283 23.7% 2443 20.7% 1158 13.6%
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